Cycles & Chains

Minor ii-V to ii-V-I Progression

A minor ii-V aimed at the ii chord, then the ii-V-I: the ii is approached as if it were a key of its own.

Tempo 120 BPM

Practice in all 12 keys

Bar 1: Em7♭5 iiiø7 A7alt VI7alt
Bar 2: Dm7 ii7 G7 V7
Bar 3: Cmaj7 Imaj7
Bar 4: the bar before again, Cmaj7

Rootless Shells Guide tones Rooted shells Rooted Drop 2

Four-note rootless voicings in their two forms, with the 3rd or the 7th on the bottom, played over the root.

Customize each chord

Em7b5
A7alt
Dm7
G7
Cmaj7
Cmaj7

Meter: 4/4
Bars: 4

Em7b5 A7alt is the ii-V of D minor, so Dm7 arrives as a small resolution before the real cadence into C. It’s one of the most common ways to stretch a ii-V-I over four bars, and analyses write it iiø7/ii V7/ii. Practice switching scales with the chords: Locrian and altered for the minor ii-V, Dorian and Mixolydian for the major one.

Reharmonize Analyze these changes

Tritone substitutes

Em7b5 Eb7#11 Dm7 Db7 Cmaj7

Each dominant 7th that resolves down a fifth becomes the dominant a tritone away, which shares its 3rd and 7th, so the bass moves by half steps.
Backdoor dominants

Em7b5 A7alt Fm7 Bb7 Cmaj7

Each V7 resolving to a major chord comes in by the back door from bVII7, with iv7 for its ii, borrowed from the minor key.

Reharmonize Analyze these changes

Tritone substitutes

Backdoor dominants